Improvement in ratoon and cane cutters



UNITED STATES4 ,PATENT Farce.

NORBERT LAUVE, OF IBERVILLE PARISH, LOUISIANA IMPROVEMENT IN RATO'ONAND CANE CUTTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 3,748, dated September 17, ltllkl.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NORBERT LAUVE, ot'` ence being' had to the annexed drawings, mak-- ingl a part Of-this specilication, in which-` Figure 1 isa perspective view. Fig. 2 is a birds-eye View; and Figs. 3, 4, 5', 6, and 7 are detached representations ot' the knives and the slide for the roller I usc. Y

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willrproceed to describe its construction and operation.

I construct the machine with two common sledrunners, A and B, (see Fig. 2,)slightly turned up in front, each seven feet six inches long, four inches thick, and six inches high.

- rIhe width between the sled-run ners is two feet two inches-that is, they are placed two feet two inches apart, parallel to each other,`and they are connected together by two iron or wooden cross-pieces curved upward, marked O and D, (see Fig. 2,) in a substantial manner. In order to do this I mortise vsufficient square holes into the two sled-runners and irisert the` ends ofthe cross-pieces already tenoned into them. The frontcross-piece, O,is placed about one t'oot from the head ot' the machine, and the rear cross-piece, D, the like distance from the rear of the machine. (See O and D, Fig. 2.) On the top, and about the center ot' the sledrunners A and B, where the twocross-pieces O and D are inserted into them, I bore a halt'- inch hole, piercing each tenon ofthe two crosspieces and also entirely through the two sledrunners, through which holes an iron bolt is passed from the bottom ofthe sled-runners upward, and secured on the top by a screw-tap. 'Ihe head of the bolt, at the bottom, is let into the wood so as to presentan even surface.v These cross-pieces C and D, thus fastened, give the sled-runners A and B a strong, substantial, and firm connection. (See Fig. 2.)

11n front of the knives, revolving on its own axis or iron gudgeons, I place a substantial roller,about six inchesin circu mferen ce,marked E. (See Fig. 2.) The bottom of the roller will run afew inches above the level of the plane of the two knivesF and G. (See Fig. 2.) The roller is placed at the head of thetnachineand attached to it by means ot' two slides, marked M M, (see Fig. 2,) made of iron, one-quarter of' an inch thick, three and onethalf inches wide, and eight inches long. These slides are either letinto the head ot' the machine by coinmon grooves or placed upon the suri'aceon the y inside of the two sled-runners A and B, and keptin their places in the following manner: In each ot' these slides are two eyes, one-halt'inch wide and threeinches long, with a screw or bolt in the upper and lower eye. Running through the heads ot'the two sled-runners, and fastened wi th taps on the outside,between these two eyes, and in the center of the slide, is fixed the roller E, revolving on its own axis oriron gudgeons, and by means ofthe screws and oblong eyes in the slides the roller may be elevated or depressed at pleasure.- (See the head ot' Fig. 1, where the slide may be more plainly discovered as attached to the machine.) This roller is to prevent the knives trom ruiming toodeep and cutting up or otherwise seriously injuring the ratoon, or, in other words, to serve as a guide to the machine.

Behind the roller E, I place two curved knives, marked F and G. (See Fig. 2.) These knives are nearly inthe shape o't' a crescent. The shape may be more accurately described as being between an obtuse angle and a crescenti-that is, the edge falling gradually back from each end in an oblique line until near the center of the blade, when it is slightly curved, as in Fig. 3. The knives are thus formed so as not to slip or drag across the ratoon, every part of the edge doing its duty, and when it reaches the ratoon draws obliquely across it, something in the same manner that you would draw a common pocket-knife in' cutti ng it with the hand, thus preventing the ratoon from being split or shattered in the operation and cutting it ott' smoothly and even. These two knives are made ot the best kind of steel, bearing a good edge, and sufficiently strong to do the required werk withoutbreaking-say from six to eight inches broad and one-quarter ot' an inch thick on the back. The blades are beveled on the upper side only, leaving the un der side perfectly dat. These knives are made with dan ges at the sides, bent at right angles with the blade, and of the same width, for the purpose of adjusting them onthe inside of the sled -runners in common grooves. vIn .each flange there is an eye in the center, one-half inch wide and fourinches long, with a bolt running through the sides of the sled-runners and the eye of the flange and screwed on the outside of the sled-runners with a tap, so as to secure the knives tightly on and elevate or depress them at pleasure, as will be seen in Fig. 2. The front knife, F, is placed at two feetsix inches from the head of the machine, and the edge of the second knife, G, is placed in the rear of and exactly two feet from the edge of the first knife, F, (see Fig. 2,) the curved edges of the knives being in front.

In the rear of the machine I place a fluke,

marked H, (see Fig. 2,) which is kept suspendedl in the center between the two sled-runners A and B by means of two iron arms, marked I and J, (see Fig. 2,) made sufficiently strong for that purpose. These arms are attached firmly to the rear of the sledrunners byscrews or bolts, and curving inward ina semicircle or bent down about six inches at right angles and fastened on the inner sides of the duke, as will be-seen at El, Fig. 2, by means of a screw or bolt passing through an eye in the bent part of vthe arm, about three inches long and one-half inch wide, and also through the side of the fluke H. (See Fig. 2.) The fluke H is made of wood or iron, according to desire. If wood, the boards or sides are required to be eight or vten inches high and two inches thick, the length of each board or side being two feet seven inches, placed perpendicular and in such a manner as to form an acute angle. The apex or point of the fluke ruiming in front is cased with cast-iron and made very sharp. The uke is two feet wide across the base of the angle. At the apex or point of the uke is a bolt one-half inch thick, marked K, (see Fig. 2,) and securely fastened thereto, which bolt runs perpendicularly up through the center of the cross-piece D, (see Fig. 2,) with a screw-tap on the upper part of the bolt, (which bolt is about thirteen inches long,) where itpierces the cross-piece D. This serves to keep the apex or point of the fluke firmly fixed, and immediately under the center of the cross-piece D and equidistant from the two sled-runners A and B. By means of the eyes and screws in the arms ofthe fluke already described as I and J (see Fig. 2) and this bolt K the flukeH can be depressed or elevatedat pleasure. (See Fig. 2, letters I, J, and H.)

Operation of the machine: The ratoon of sugar-caries is the stubble or stubs left after cutting the cane off for grinding. They are generally from six inches to a foot in height, and are very much in the way of the hoes. When they proceed inthe spring of the year to scrape and cultivate the same, which is an exceedingly slow operation, the two knives cut oi this ratoon perfectly even with the ground or just below the surface-say an .inch or more, according as they are depressed or elevated in the manner already described, deep or shallow. 'Ihe fluke H, following after the knives and throwing the dirt right and left, cleans all the dirt and rubbish thrown or cutup by the knives, and leaves the ridge or ratoon row not only perfectly even, but clear of grass, thus performing the important and double operation of cutting off the ratoon smooth and even with the ground and leaving it cultivated at the Sametime. The operation of the roller is for the purpose of a guide to the machine, as already stated. In the saine manner the machine operates in scraping off and throwing the dirt from the plant-canes in -the springl of the year, serving for the first working instead ot' the hoes; and the great utility and advantage of this machine consist in its being capable of performing the work ot' twenty-tive hands or laborers. I also use, instead of the knife No. 3, four separate knives (see Nos. 4, 5, and 6) of the same width and thickness as knife No. 3, placed opposite each other and meeting in the center ofthe machine, as shown at Fig. 7. The knives are attached to the sled-runners in the same manner as knife No. 3. (See Fig. 7.) The shape of these knives is that of a broadsword or semicircle, the edge curving rapidly back to a point. One knife, being a little longer than the other, is made to pass the center a little and .an inch or two inthe rear of the opposite knife, as shown at Fig. 7.

1. The manner in which I construct my ratoon-cutter and plant-cane scraper, as above described and specified-that is to say, -1 claim attaching tothe bottom of the two sled-runners A and B (see Fig. 2) the curved knives F and G (see Fig. 2) in the manner substantially set forth above, and in combination therewith I claim the fluke H (see Fig. 2) for cleaning 'off the trash and dirt, constructed and arranged substantially as .set forth above in the foregoing description.

2. The combination of the roller E (see Fig. 2) with the above arrangement of knives, said roller heilig arranged in the manner and for the purpose set forth in the above specification and description.

N. LAUVE.

Witnesses:

WM. B. RoBER'rsoN, A. LECLERC. 

